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Game 14, Rays at Mariners

Baker @ the Times reports Yuni’s starting, which… bleagh. All of this talk about team concentration and fielding drills not being about him reminds me of grade school when everyone had to put their heads down on their desks until the guilty party fessed up.

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189 Responses to “Game 14, Rays at Mariners”

henryv on
April 21st, 2009 9:32 pm

That wasn’t Rob Johnson’s glove, Dave. That was his head.

tgf on
April 21st, 2009 9:36 pm

Morrow scares me everytime he takes the moundâ€¦great stuff, just not sure he has the head to be closerâ€¦

Well, he definitely seems not to have the cognitive dissonance and lack of self-awareness of say a J.J. Putz, so you may be on to something….

Sidi on
April 21st, 2009 9:38 pm

Well, he definitely seems not to have the cognitive dissonance and lack of self-awareness of say a J.J. Putz, so you may be on to somethingâ€¦.

Or the girth of experience of Guardado. Or the lack of faith in his one great pitch like Sasaki…

ppl on
April 21st, 2009 9:38 pm

I’ll take it, good solid win for Seattle.

Sidi on
April 21st, 2009 9:39 pm

Sorry, breadth would have probably been better for the joke.

hark on
April 21st, 2009 9:39 pm

An 86 mph breaking ball for the last strike of the game. Called.

Wow, Morrow.

henryv on
April 21st, 2009 9:42 pm

I felt the same way about JJ when he started closing as I feel about Morrow now. The year before JJ gave up a lot of home runs.

Mike Sweeney really seems to be a great guy. He’s destined for TV.

ppl on
April 21st, 2009 9:42 pm

the A’s lost. The Angels are still locked in a 3-3 tie with the Tigers. A chance to gain ground.

henryv on
April 21st, 2009 9:44 pm

Isn’t Pitch fX usually up by now?

joser on
April 21st, 2009 9:45 pm

Speaking of Putz, he continued the Mets’ tradition of bullpen meltdowns, coughing up the win in the 8th tonight.

Lauren, token chick on
April 21st, 2009 9:47 pm

By the way, file this under “what would they do with Zduriencik, Wakamatsu and Jakubauskas?”:

Lauren, that’s the funniest story. You should read Uniwatch’s take on it: “For those keeping score at home, the Nats are clearly leading the league in uniform miscues. On Monday, they sent Wilfredo Ledezma out on the field with an upside-down â€œNâ€; on Friday, they wore those blue clown suits with red helmets and sleeves; and now this. Good thing the team in our nationâ€™s natinâ€™s capital plays such solid ball on the field to make up for â€” uh, wait, never mind.”

Actually, you should read Uniwatch almost as often as USSM, he’s hilarious. And infallible.

henryv on
April 21st, 2009 10:00 pm

Want to see the difference between a pitcher with his pitchers working, and one who’s pitches AREN’T working? Compare Silva’s PitchFX vs. Washburn’s, especially the vertical movement vs. speed or vert vs. horizontal movement graphs.

Especially compare it with the pitch type.

joser on
April 21st, 2009 10:01 pm

Well, Pipp didn’t lose his spot to Gehrig the way the legend says he did, but in a way it’s even more appropriate: Pipp was already over the hill and got taken out of the regular lineup for that reason, not injury. Then again, he did not have a three year guaranteed contract either.

And those game-worn jerseys with spelling errors? Instant collector’s items.

joser on
April 21st, 2009 10:05 pm

BTW, that contest / survey they ran — “most exciting player in the AL East” — was the worst one yet. Longoria, sure. But the others? Just off the top of my head I can think of several better choices, starting with Adam Jones and Travis Snider.

Lauren, token chick on
April 21st, 2009 10:05 pm

Steve: Hee. Sounds like they identify their beat (in the article) as “uni-ineptitude”; over here, of course, we add a Y in front.

Does anyone have any idea what type of season Washburn would have to put up to get type A classification for free agency? I’m assuming its based on ERA, Wins, and some other new fangled statistics.

Sidi on
April 21st, 2009 10:15 pm

coreyjro I believe it’s weighted over a couple years, which hurts his chances. I think the exact calculations involve a bottle of vodka, a dozen baseball cards sent through a blender, and a couple of sacrificed goats…so it’s hard to say. It will depend upon how well the goat is eating over the next half year.

henryv on
April 21st, 2009 10:18 pm

Is Boras his agent? If so, he’ll just need to have a pulse to get 20 mil a year from the Yankees.

henryv on
April 21st, 2009 10:21 pm

As I remember, they exclude the best 3 games of the years covered, along with the worst 3.

But the Vodka and blender actually explain it better.

Breadbaker on
April 21st, 2009 10:22 pm

Just back from the game. My thoughts, in no particular order.

FWIW, Jarrod could easily have done his “it’s the defense, dammit” routine after Endy misplayed the ball off the wall in the first inning. He didn’t. If the new manager and pitching coach are working on his temper and focus, they deserve credit. If Jarrod is listening to them, or doing it on his own, he deserves credit. If his agent has pointed out this is his walk year and getting his attention that way, his agent deserves credit. He’s pitched three excellent games this year.

Junior, on the other hand . . . well, I can tell my grandchildren I saw Ken Griffey, Jr. bunt and how many can say that? But frankly, he looked like there was a fork in his back today. Against a righthander. Not good.

Ichiro’s bunt was not a smart baseball move.

Sweeney may be a “professional hitter”, but he hit line drives and was clearly seeing the ball well today. I was surprised to see Branyan sit against Sonnanstine, but Sweeney seemed to know just what to do with each pitch (including the one that hit him).

Can we give whatever Gabe Kapler was drinking to all opposing center fielders?

Enough with the bunts, please.

When Beltre started jawing with the ump after the first strikeout call, I thought he was complaining that Sonnanstine was throwing at him, that’s how far the pitch looked from being a strike. And I’m sitting in row 127 a couple rows behind the Diamond Club.

The last pitch of the game was a lovely sight to behold.

Sidi on
April 21st, 2009 10:22 pm

Ok, it looks like it’s two seasons.

For a starting pitcher it appears to be “Total games (total starts + 0.5 * total relief appearances), IP, Wins, W-L Percentage, ERA, Strikeouts” to determine.

Any word on what was going on with Ichiro’s bunt? Was it a squeeze, or just Ichi being dumb?

I’m watching Fringe now, so can’t watch the post game.

Catherwood on
April 21st, 2009 10:30 pm

Maybe the fact that Washburn, a fly-ball pitcher, has an actual outfield behind him, has loosened his giblets.

I mean, that outfield. It’s like having 5 guys out there, and none of them are Raul Ibanez. So now Wash can be Wash.

Kazinski on
April 21st, 2009 11:06 pm

This make no sense at all(from Baker):

ADDITIONAL NOTE 10:16 p.m.: For those wondering, that bunt play by Ichiro in the fourth inning was supposed to be a suicide squeeze. Manager Don Wakamatsu took the blame, however, saying the coaches relayed the wrong signal to Yuniesky Betancourt at third base. Betancourt thought he’d been told Ichiro was bunting for a hit and did not break for the plate. As I said, Wakamatsu took the blame for relaying the wrong signal to Betancourt. Hope that clears up what was a very confusing turn of events.

Maybe Yuni wouldn’t start on the pitch but he should have had enough of a jump to score if he knew the bunt was coming.

henryv on
April 21st, 2009 11:14 pm

That quote from Baker is only Wak covering for his player.

Yuni didn’t pay attention, and you could see it on the third base coach’s face right after the play.

Breadbaker on
April 21st, 2009 11:19 pm

If that bunt was a squeeze, whether Yuni was going or not, it was a terrible bunt, right in front of the plate. If Yuni had gone, the catcher would have had to just stand there to tag him out.

henryv on
April 21st, 2009 11:20 pm

Why was Yuni so far back anyways? He’s behind the third baseman, who was playing on the grass. Even if its not a squeeze, he should have been further up the line.

Mike Snow on
April 21st, 2009 11:25 pm

Yuni didnâ€™t pay attention, and you could see it on the third base coachâ€™s face right after the play.

Or Hines could have been reacting to the fact that they totally botched the signs. I don’t see how the difference would be completely obvious. We can recognize that Wakamatsu might be covering for Betancourt, but it’s not exactly clear, he could be telling the unvarnished truth.

henryv on
April 21st, 2009 11:26 pm

What bunt were you watching, Bread? The ball went to the right of the pitcher, and was played by Longoria, who made one hell of a throw to get Ichiro by about 12 inches.

About 3 third baseman in the league could make that play to get Ichiro. If Yuni had been going on movement he would have been ahead of Longoria, and safe without even sliding.

Kazinski on
April 21st, 2009 11:35 pm

Yeah,
That was a perfectly good bunt, if Yuni was going. It might have scored Yuni even on a safety squeeze, if he had been paying attention.

It sound like Wak was covering for Yuni, rather than Ichiro was bunting for a base hit. It makes no sense trying to bunt for a base hit when a squeeze would be in order. Ichiro can hit a ground ball to the right side with his eyes closed, though, that makes even more sense than calling a squeeze.

Breadbaker on
April 21st, 2009 11:46 pm

I must be mixing up bunts. There were so many of them and I don’t have the advantage of replay since I was just at the game (and they didn’t exactly show those plays again).

joser on
April 22nd, 2009 9:44 am

Ichiro can hit a ground ball to the right side with his eyes closed, though, that makes even more sense than calling a squeeze.

But he can’t ensure it’s not fielded, resulting in a 3-2-3 (or 3-2-1/4 depending on who is covering 1st) double play. Or just an FC out at home.

But clearly word of the bunt-happy M’s is getting around — it drew the Rays’ outfield in, and that won the game. Wakamatsu is a genius.

monty1077 on
April 22nd, 2009 12:06 pm

All I can say is this.

It is what it is.
For the first time in a long time there is hope.

msb on
April 22nd, 2009 2:27 pm

Yuni didnâ€™t pay attention, and you could see it on the third base coachâ€™s face right after the play.

Or Hines could have been reacting to the fact that they totally botched the signs. I donâ€™t see how the difference would be completely obvious.

aaaaaaand, Krueger throws Ichiro under the bus, claiming that it was Ichiro bunting for a hit, not a missed sign.

John D. on
April 22nd, 2009 4:48 pm

Pipp was already over the hill and got taken out of the regular lineup for that reason,

It took some astute evaluation to note that PIPP was “already over the hill”–or would soon be.
He knocked in 99 runs the next year.